A Conservative peer is calling on the government to honour a pledge to invest in specialist fracture clinics made during a parliamentary debate last week.
During a debate on Monday Lord Markham, Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health revealed the government plans to “expand” special fracture clinics as part of its preventative health strategy.
Lord Black of Brentwood, co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Osteoporosis, welcomed the news. However, he urged the government to “keep its promise.”
Lord Black, Deputy Chair of the Telegraph Media Group, has been backing the Sunday Express ‘Better Bones’ campaign to prevent thousands a year suffering death or disability linked to the brittle bone condition by ensuring fracture liaison services (FLS) are accessible to all those over 50.
During the debate, Lord Markham said: “Many of us will know the advantage of FLS….it is a vital part of the (government) prevention programme. There is a very strong case behind them and my noble friend (Lord Black) can rest assured it is something that we are really looking to progress.”
Lord Markham added that improved osteoporosis prevention services would save taxpayers money by reducing the number of people off sick due to fractures and associated ill health. He said: “FLS have shown many cases of prevention. There is a good argument in terms of investment and the return on it all. That is something that we are working towards and it is part of the major conditions strategy for musculoskeletal conditions. So it is something that we are looking to expand. We accept that these services are very effective in what they do. We are trying to pursue a prevention agenda; there is a good cost-benefit argument around it, so we are making a strong case for their expansion.”
It is understood that this decision now rests with the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.
During the debate, the Sunday Express was praised for its work in campaigning for improving osteoporosis services.
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Allan said: “The noble Lord Black and the (Sunday Express) ‘Better Bones’ campaign have done an excellent job in raising the profile of fracture liaison services.”
Lord Back, whose mother’s final years before her death in 2009, were blighted by the pain and disability associated with osteoporosis, said: “There is massive cross party support for this and people are getting fed up with constant government promises that are not met. It is a pitiful amount of money that we would need to invest in FLS compared to the savings that could be made and the need to get this sorted is now greater than ever.”
He added: “I welcome the government’s pledge to expand FLS, but part of the problem is that the government comes up with endless promises which are not delivered. It’s like groundhog day. We have been debating this for over a year. Patience is wearing very thin and while we endlessly debate the issue people are suffering and dying.”
Recalling the final years before the death of his mother, Monica, when she was 79, he said: “The osteoporosis made her so frail she was wary of going out. She cracked a bone in her shoulder just from an awkward movement in the shower – that’s how brittle her bones were. As a result she was in a lot of pain for the last six months of her life. She also had to give up on driving. It was a real blow. She had depended on the car for getting out.”
He added: “She had been very inspired by Queen Camilla who raised the profile of osteoporosis by talking about her own mother. This had encouraged other people to talk about it and the Queen was one of the first people to raise this issue. Every week and every year people are suffering needlessly like my mother who died 15 years ago to this day. How much longer do we have to wait?”
The Sunday Express Better Bones Campaign is being jointly run with the Royal Osteoporosis Society. It is demanding £30 million a year funding for FLS – enough to end the patient postcode lottery for services and ensure everyone eligible has access.
FLS involve the intervention of a team of bone health specialists dedicated to secondary fracture prevention using risk assessment tools such as Dexa (bone scans) and osteoporosis drugs.
Research shows filling the gaps in Fracture Liaison Services could lead to the prevention of 74,000 fractures over five years, saving the NHS £440m.
One in two women and one in five men over 50 will get osteoporosis.
A staggering 2.6 million work days are lost annually due to fractures.
Better Bones has won the backing of 250 Parliamentarians, thousands of doctors, including seven Royal colleges of medicine, business leaders, unions, and charities.
